Envoy says Israel must speed up negotiations

Posted: Tuesday, October 25, 2005

JERUSALEM - A top Mideast envoy criticized Israel in especially tough language for moving too slowly on negotiations to open Gaza's borders, saying the country is behaving almost as if the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip never happened.

Without dramatic progress soon, a rare chance to revive Gaza's shattered economy - and the peace process - will be lost, James Wolfensohn said in a letter to the U.N. secretary general and other international mediators obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Violence, meanwhile, quickly escalated between Israel and the Palestinians after Israeli troops killed Luay Saadi, a top Palestinian fugitive, and a close accomplice in a pre-dawn shootout in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank.

Islamic Jihad threatened revenge and launched at least two homemade rockets from Gaza into Israel, causing no injuries.

Syria brings out mass protest of U.N. report

DAMASCUS, Syria - Civil servants and students massed in the streets Monday to protest a U.N. report implicating Syria in the killing of a Lebanese leader, joining in a government-orchestrated campaign to drum up support before a U.N. Security Council meeting.

The United States and Britain were pushing for the council to take a tough stand against Syria at a meeting Tuesday, but France said sanctions shouldn't be voted on until investigators finish looking into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Wal-Mart announces better healthcare plan

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced more affordable health care for some of its workers Monday in the latest shot in a battle with critics for the hearts of consumers. The move by the world's largest retailer comes as the holiday sales season approaches.

Analysts say Wal-Mart needs to add about $250 million a day in sales during the holiday season to meet earnings targets and cannot afford to lose ground to an increasingly united front of opponents who want consumers to shun the discounter until it changes its ways.

"Consumers increasingly have a conscience and are increasingly shifting to competitors," said Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Marketing.

"It is critical for Wal-Mart to start doing a billion dollars a day in sales starting on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is the big 30-day push for Christmas and year-end sales," Flickinger said.